Are you talking about the yellow-flowered Carolina Jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens)?

It is a perennial vine that is cold hardy to zone 7, although a fairly new cultivar, "Margarita", is said to be reliably cold hardy to zone 6 and possibly even zone 5 in a protected microclimate.

This vine likes its roots to be shaded and cool, so mulch the root zone well. It will grow and bloom in full sun to part shade and prefers very rich, fertile, somewhat acidic soil with lots of organic matter. It blooms heavily in the spring and the somewhat sporadically in summer and fall. Keeping it very well-watered results in more blooms.

The double-flowered one, "Pride of Augusta" (aka "Plena") has a longer period of bloom than the standard single-flowered one.

It has a moderate growth rate and usually is not invasive in zone 7.

ALL PARTS of Carolina Jessamine are highly toxic, containing two strychnine-related alkaloids called gelsemine and gelseminine. This plant should never be consumed, by people or animals, in any shape, form or fashion. I also wouldn't put any part of this plant in a compost pile.

There have been reported cases of children who have been poisoned when they sucked the nectar from the flowers, probably because they have mistaken the flowers for honeysuckle blossoms.

I think it is a lovely vine but I don't grow it. Why? The nectar of the blossoms is toxic to honey bees and can result in brood death when gathered by the bees. To me, it is more important not to poison the bees as they are important pollinators.

Dawn

One reason I don't grow it is that it blooms for a very short time in spring (or IMHO it does) and then is just uninteresting green foliage the rest of the summer. It is also a somewhat rampant vine. There is a lady down the street that has one completely covering the front entryway to her house (well, except for the door). It blooms and then it's done....end of story.

Same reason I don't grow wisteria, and it gets really out of control if you don't hack it back twice a year at least. I'm too old to cope with one that invasive, and I don't have room for the tree form (I would get if I had room because they don't get as out of control).

But, these are just personal opinions and some people just wouldn't be without their vines. I have to deal with the trumpet vine that comes up everywhere from my neighbors yard and reseeds prolifically in mine.

Susan